Milwaukee Brewers: Could Clay Buchholz fit with the Crew?

The Milwaukee Brewers have a strong presence at the top of their rotation with the extension of Chase Anderson.

But, with the absence of Jimmy Nelson there is reason to desire another. Admittedly, the free agent market is not the best. The top prospect may as well be a reunion between the Milwaukee Brewers and CC Sabathia. But, maybe there is another.

The name Clay Buchholz may conjure up a lot of ideas. Immediately, it may even bring up flashbacks of barrages of runs all at once. But he put together several solid seasons. Unfortunately, he is just inconsistent in his season production.

The Phillies listed him as the ace last year and he answered with an ERA over twelve. But calm down, I am not insane. He made it only two starts before going down with a season ending surgery. The repair was on his shoulder, which is a scary thing to say when looking at a potential signing.

To me, that just says discount. Anderson is going to be the ace barring something ridiculous happening. With the likes of Brandon Woodruff, Zack Davies, Brent Suter to an extent, Josh Hader(hopefully), and pitcher waiting in the wings, there is a lot of youth.

A veteran presence such as Buchholz may do a lot of good. Plus, if he comes back with an year where he is on, then the Milwaukee Brewers just stumbled upon some discounted gold. Under his current contract, Buchholz is making just over 13 million. Entering his 34 year old season with a repaired shoulder would more than likely mean that number is going to come down.

In all likelihood, this is not going to happen. But it is worth looking into. Buchholz is a two time All-Star. Throughout his career there have been flashes of brilliance. And added in with the Brewers pitching coach, who did wonders with Anderson, it seems to be a great fit.

The downside is that this signing only works if Buchholz can produce a decent season. If not, then the Milwaukee Brewers rotation will contain two guys with repaired shoulders. However, there seems to be a low risk and high reward involved in a one or two year contract. Because of his surgery, no team will want to offer more than that.

Next: Who are other extension cadidates?

It is something to think about to say the least. It doesn’t seem all too likely, but Buchholz name should come up. He is the kind of player who can be a huge help at a discount. To not think about it would be wrong. I think he fits very well with the Milwaukee Brewers.